hi Seth,
the library is licensed under MPL2.0. Here is the github link if you
wanna take a look: https://github.com/ethindp/prism
Also, do you have any samples on how to write the docs? That would help
me get an idea on how to approach it
thanks for the help.
Regards
On 6/17/2026 06:39, 'Seth Hillbrand' via KiCad Developers wrote:
Hello Tech,
While writing this spec, keep in mind that kicad remains a GPL
software package and so must comply with license requirements on
linked libraries. Specifically, libraries must be GPL compatible in
their license. Basically requires as a minimum at the source for the
library is available.
Exceptions to this requirement include libraries that are distributed
as part of the standard operating system.
You may be required to create an interface layer that communicates
over IPC. Depending on the license of the accessibility libraries that
you intend to link..
Start small and be sure to list all third-party requirements before
digging into implementation details. We can help you with the document
once you have a rough draft.
Seth
Seth Hillbrand
*Lead Developer*
+1-530-302-5483
Long Beach, CA
www.kipro-pcb.com <https://www.kipro-pcb.com/> [email protected]
On Tue, Jun 16, 2026, 5:54 PM tech <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Seth,
Great to hear that KiCad is open to the idea of making it
accessible for everyone.
That was my plan as well. I've already found a few areas where I
think accessibility could be improved, such as the main
application dialog before moving on to more complex parts of the
interface.
I plan to start small so I can get my feet wet before taking on
larger changes.
My initial idea is to expose information about the currently
focused component or any other relevant context to the screen
reader while changing as little of the existing workflow as possible.
I imagine it as an additional accessibility layer that becomes
active when a screen reader is running.
I would also like to keep the implementation cross platform so it
works across all operating systems that KiCad supports. I've been
looking at libraries such as Prism, which provide a common API for
applications to communicate with screen readers. Of course, I'm
still in the early stages of researching the best approach.
Any help with drafting a proposal would be greatly appreciated.
I'm very new to this kind of design work, so I'm not entirely sure
where to begin.
I started thinking along these lines after noticing that KiCad's
keyboard navigation is already quite similar to a mod called
Factorio Access, which aims to make the game Factorio accessible
for blind users.
I've always liked the idea of making mainstream software work for
everyone instead of building separate accessibility tools whenever
possible. I'd love to help achieve that goal with KiCad so that no
one is left out.
Regards,
Tech
On 6/17/2026 03:48, 'Seth Hillbrand' via KiCad Developers wrote:
Hello!
We're happy to receive direct feedback on the usability of KiCad
with accessibility devices.
Our work to this point has focused on standardizing menus,
dialogs and other elements that exposed to screen readers by
default. As well, we have spent time improving the color contrast
between on screen elements.
You are welcome to propose any additional improvements. I would
recommend drafting a proposal first before coding so that we can
ensure that the work fits with the larger KiCad plans
Seth
Seth Hillbrand
*Lead Developer*
+1-530-302-5483
Long Beach, CA
www.kipro-pcb.com <https://www.kipro-pcb.com/> [email protected]
On Tue, Jun 16, 2026, 3:18 AM Tech <[email protected]>
wrote:
hi all,
I am a blind student who is interested in embedded systems
and electronics and one of the problems i have is designing a
PCB.
initially, I was planning to create A plugin for kicad but
then thought why not make kicad itself accessible as much as
possible before that without changing the current workflow.
From what I have seen so far, KiCad already has many of the
foundations needed for accessibility. Much of the workflow
can already be performed using the keyboard, which is ideal.
It appears that many remaining issues could be addressed by
exposing the necessary information to screen readers through
the accessibility APIs.
I would like to contribute to this effort and help make KiCad
more accessible for blind and visually impaired users. I
would appreciate any guidance on where to start, areas that
would benefit most from accessibility improvements, or any
existing work related to accessibility that I should be aware of.
If there are developers who have worked on the UI or
accessibility infrastructure, I would be grateful for any
advice or pointers.
I look forward to contributing and working with the community
to make this work as it would be a huge win for the visually
impaired community.
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